Can't Do This Anymore
by Jesica808
Summary: Carter Reed and Harry Styles have been inseperable best friends since 1st grade, but lately he's been distant. What will happen when he comes for a sleepover, and finally tells her how he feels? Will she feel the same? (AU where Harry isn't in One Direction) Sorry, summary sucks.
1. Chapter 1

"Hmmmm," says Jordan, my friend. Not my best friend, though, that's Harry. My name is Carter (nickname is Car), and Harry and I have been best friends since my 1st grade. He's always been a year ahead of me, so he was in 2nd when we met. We are so close, and always have been. We've never even gone a whole day without talking. Maybe not physically there to talk to each other, but texting or calling at least. Until lately. "I dare you to kiss Harry on the cheek." Jordan adds.

I look over at Harry, him grinning ear to ear. The grin I'm so familiar with. But I can tell there is something wrong. His green eyes don't shine with the light that they used to. His smile seems forced. He doesn't look happy.

"Come on, Jordan. He's my best friend, that's easy." I laugh, and lean to my right, where Harry is sitting, and kiss him softly on the cheek. Not even a blush creeps on my face from that, and that's saying something.

Harry and I are so comfortable with each other. We both grew up staying at each other's houses every weekend, or even on school nights, playing video games, telling ghost stories, having movie marathons, and having contests on who can stay awake the longest. We would always end up laughing really hard, and waking our parents up, which would make us laugh even harder. They would make us go to bed, and we would always cuddle together and talk until we saw the sunrise. Nothing romantic, just enjoying each others company. Even when my family went on vacation, Harry came along, and vice versa.

We hold hands, and everyone teases us, saying we like each other, and it used to bother me at first, but Harry is my best friend, and we have such a close friendship. I realized that nothing they say bothered me as long as I have Harry by my side. Not many people get to find a best friend like that, and some people just don't realize how close we are, because they don't have that person. I'm so lucky to have Harry. Or was.

I am 16, and he is 17 now, and we were still doing all of those things until a couple of months ago, when I noticed Harry has been giving me the cold shoulder. it started off slow at first, but it got worse. It got so bad, that we have barely even talked in two months. But last night, finally, I called him to come spend the night, and he did, surprisingly. Jordan invited herself over, too.

Jordan is my only friend besides Harry, though we are not nearly as close friends as Harry and I are. I don't think anyone could ever be closer than Harry is to me, even with how he's been acting these past couple of months. I've never had a boyfriend, because I've never really needed anyone else besides Harry, and also I think Harry scares all the other boys away.

Once, back when I was 14, I liked a boy, and finally got the courage to tell him, and he laughed in my face and tripped me while I ran away crying. Somehow, the word got around to Harry, and he broke his nose and fractured one of his ribs. No one at school has made fun of me since. Later that same night, Harry showed up at my house with a bag of candy and movies, and held me while I cried.

"By the way, Harry," Jordan said with a hint of rudeness in her voice. That usually meant she was angry. I'm guessing it was because I had said Harry was my best friend and not her.

"Yeah?" Harry asked.

"Has Car told you about her 'little crush' yet?" She said with a mocking tone. I look over at her, and widen my eyes, trying to silently tell her to stop. She sees. She keeps going.

"Oh yeah, she likes that boy Liam in her 4th period English. She told me that he smiled and winked at her every day. Surprised she didn't tell you. I thought friends did that. Anyway, I think I'm gonna leave now. See you at school Monday?" she said, and left without listening for an answer. The truth is, I don't really like Jordan anymore. It's just nice to have a girl to talk to sometimes, and I'm especially lonely lately since Harry isn't around as much. I just don't really know how to tell her I don't want to be friends with her anymore.

I turn to Harry reluctantly, and chew my lip. I see his jaw tense, the exact thing he did when he showed up at my door that night after beating the boy up. Anger. But this time directed at me. "Why didnt you tell me?" Harry said.

"Harry, come on. You know you aren't around as much. It isn't like its a big deal. It's just a crush." I say softly.

"It's not that, Carter! Liam is a dick! I've seen the way he treats girls. He will use them, and then abandon them. I'll never let him do that to you! Ever." He replied, his body tensing and his hands clenching more and more the angrier he got. He usually is this soft-spoken, sweet guy, but every time a conversation comes up about a boy I like, or think is cute, he gets mad. I understand, though. He's trying to protect me, so know one treats me like that boy did. But he goes too far sometimes.

Carter is my real name. He hasn't ever called me that before, though. Well, until today. On my first day of first grade, he came up to my lunch table to sit with me, because I was alone. I, stupidly, dropped the blueberry pie my mom had packed into my lunch bag, onto my dress. He started calling me "blueberry", which turned to "bluebear", and now, he either calls me "blue" or "bear".

I get angry. He hasn't been around to protect me for two months! How does he think he can just show up, and everything be okay? "You don't even know! Liam is nice to me! What do you even care, Harry? You probably wouldn't be around to see that happen, anyway!" My voice rising with anger also.

"And what's that supposed to mean? You know better! You know how he is! How he treats girls!" Harry's yelling now, too.

"You know what I'm talking about! You've pretty much abandoned me! What even is the difference?!" I yell.

"You don't know anything. You think you do, but you don't." Harry says with a softer tone. He grabs his jacket, stands up, and walks up to the door.

"So I'm stupid now? Is that it?!" I yell after him, while he walks out of the door and slams it shut.

This was it. The biggest fight we've ever had. They are usually just minor things, like who called dibs on the last coke in the fridge or something, but this was real.

I hear a loud noise, so I get up, and look out the window. Harry is standing over his car, breathing hard, and his right knuckle is bleeding. I look around to see what had happened, and I see a huge dent on the hood. He had punched his crazy-expensive car. The car he spent a year working hard for. Who is this? This isn't the Harry I know. How could he have changed so much in so little time?

I sit back down, and think. What am I supposed to do? After about 10 minutes, I don't hear a car leave, so I stand up, and go to find Harry.

I'm so furious. My loneliness and sadness have blinded me from realizing how angry I am with him. I want to yell at him for thinking he had a say in who I liked and didn't like, or how Liam would treat me, or, most of all, how he barely speaks to me anymore. I walk out into my front yard, and I look around. I see him over in the spot he and I used to sit all day reading together. It was nice, because on our reading break, we would play games like "count how many red cars we could see drive passed", and the loser would have to make the other person whatever food they wanted for a whole day. Those times with him were the best times of my life.

I snap out of my daze, and see that he is sat with his legs curled up to his body, and his arms around them. His wild curly hair poking out at some places from under his beanie.

My fury went away as soon I saw him, like always. "Harry, I'm sorry," I say, sitting down next to him. No answer.

"I shouldn't have said that. I know you've been having trouble with something lately, and I don't know what, but I should have helped, instead of yelling at you the first time I get the chance. I haven't been a great friend lately, I guess." Still no answer. I put my hand on his arm, running my hand down it, trying to find his hand and hold it like we used to do. I finally find it, and when I try and lace my fingers with his, he pushes my hand away, and looks away, too, like its killing him, like someone is forcing him to do it. I stay silent. It's not anger that I feel, It's fear. I'm scared. I don't want to lose him. I feel him slipping away from me. I have no one without him.

"Do you hate me, Harry?" I manage to say, just barely. My voice cracks when I said his name, and I saw him wince, as if he was in pain when it happened. I can't see his face because he has it looking away from me, so I don't know if he's angry, or sad, or maybe even scared, too. I don't know what he's feeling. I wait in silence for his answer, with tears streaming down my face, but it doesn't come. I can't take it anymore, so I stand up, and run as fast as I can. It's hard though. I feel dizzy, and nauseous like I'm going to pass out. '_He hates me' _I think.

I hear him call my name, and feel him grab my arm gently, and turn me back around to face him. I scan his face, maybe trying to find any emotion I can, or maybe I just want to see his face and remember all of the memories we had. Either way, I notice tears in his eyes, too.

"Bear. Look at me." Harry says. He's quite a bit taller than me, so he's leaning down a little. "I'm so sorry. I'm so stupid - I'm sorry, okay? I can't lose you. I'll do whatever it takes. I'll-I'll tell you why I've been like this lately, okay?" He says searching my face, frantically looking for any sign of forgiveness. I nod, knowing my face is swollen from all the tears that are still covering my face. I see a hint of smile on his face, knowing he still has a chance to make this up to me.

"I could never hate you. Ever." Harry says softly, wiping the tears from my face.

"Then what's this about? I text you, but you are always short with me. Every time I invite you over, you always say you're busy. That was fine the first few times, and then, one night, I asked you to come over, and you said your mom needed help with some stuff around the house since it was her day off. That was okay. But then, the next day, I called and your mom picked up the phone, and I asked how it went with you helping her out around the house, and she didn't know what I was talking about. She said you only came out of your room once for food. That broke my heart, Harry. I kept trying to come up with reasons why you were ditching me, but I can't even think about it without breaking down. The point is, if you don't want to be my friend anymore, you need to tell me that. It will hurt for a while, but it's better than you ignoring me. I'm not myself without you here. I'm lonely. I can't take it anymore, Harry. It hurts." I say with even more tears leaving my eyes.

I want Harry to hold me while I cry_. _Like he used to. I remember all of those times when he would wrap his strong arms around me, holding me tightly. It was always like he thought someone was going to try and hurt me, and he was going to protect me with his life. I always felt so _safe_. But I can't think about that now. It won't happen.

I can tell he's in pain. His jaw clenches this time, but not with anger towards me, but towards himself. "I never meant for this to happen. I love being with you. God, I'm so stupid. I never get annoyed with you. We have quite literally spent every day together since the second grade, and I've never gotten tired of you. When I...didnt talk to you for these past two months, I still thought about you. I never stopped. Ever." he said with a soft, soothing, tone.

"When I beat that boy up for what he did to you, and then showed up at your house and saw you crying, I wanted to go back to his house, and beat him even more. Beat him until it got the sad out of you. I never wanted to see you like that ever again. I couldn't take it. I never thought about paralyzing a boy like that ever in my life, but when I saw you sad that night, I would have done it a million times for you. You have an influence on me, and it scares me. I swore that I would never let _anyone _make you feel like that again, and now I realize that's just what I've been doing to you. I hate myself for it. When I showed up last night, I saw the look on your face. You're paler than usual. You don't laugh like you used to. I've done this. I've made you sad."

I grab his right hand, the one with the bloody knuckle, and put it against my cheek, and close my eyes. The hand that used to hold mine when I was scared.

He started talking again, and his voice is shaking, like he's nervous. "That same night, when I realized that I would have done anything to make you smile again, I also realized," he said with a gulp, "that I loved you."

"Oh, Harry," I said, opening my eyes, and looking into his. "I love you too. So much." I see the relief, and happiness, flood his face in an instant. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Why is it a big deal? We always say 'I love you' to each other.

His happiness left him in no more than a second, and it was replaced with a deep sadness. The moment I realized what he had really meant, he had also realized that I didn't understand.

"Blue. You don't understand. _I'm in love you_. I love you so much. I think I always have. That night was just when I realized it for sure. I love seeing the way you light up when you talk about the things you like. And your smile. I would do anything in this world to make you smile. That's why I can't be around you. You can't just grab my hand and think its okay. You don't know what happens to me when you touch me. I go crazy. My heart beats a million times per second. I can't think of anything but you. Even in school, when I'm in class, I get in trouble for not paying attention. I'm just thinking of you all the time. It scares me, because even after all of these years, that feeling hasn't died down. Not even a little bit. I was hoping that if I maybe stayed away from you, it would help, but it just made it one hundred times worse if that's even possible. I can't even bear the thought of that wanker Liam kissing you. It kills me to think about it." He stopped for a minute, and breathed in.

"Earlier, when you kissed me on the cheek, I thought my heart was going to stop beating. Just because of a kiss on my cheek. I wanted to beg you not to do it, as soon as Jordan said it, because I knew that all of these months trying to forget about you would be wasted. Maybe she saw my pain. Maybe she can see how I feel about you. Maybe everyone does. Even when you grabbed my hand, it took everything I had to not hold it back. I couldnt stop thinking of holding you all night like we used to. When we would wake up in the morning curled up together. You would wake up with your hair messed up, and you would look at me with your eyes half-open, and smiling. You looked so beautiful. It hurts me so bad to think about it, because every time I see you," he breathes in deeply, "I want to kiss you." He looks at me, waiting for an answer.

I look at him. Harry, the boy that tells me jokes every time I am upset. The boy that picked me up food in the middle of the night because I was hungry, and I was too young to have my license. The boy that would still hold my hand and lay on the couch with me when I was sick, even though he knew he would catch the sickness, too. The boy pouring his heart out to me at this moment, and saying everything he has wanted to tell me for years. Harry. The boy that loves me.

I release his hand, and I trail my hand up his harm, shoulder, neck, and settle it on his cheek. "Kiss me." I say softly. I don't even get to see the look on his face, before he grabs my face with his hands, and kisses me. I've never kissed a boy until now, even though I'm 16, but there's never been anyone else but Harry.

This was years of waiting, built into one kiss. His lips are soft, but also urgent on mine. The lips I know so well. The same lips that smile at my jokes. The lips that I learned he slides his tongue over when he's nervous. Everything about Harry is so familiar to me.

The truth is, Liam was a distraction. I had to find a way to cope without Harry, and he was it.

We're still kissing, and my head is spinning. The kiss is soft, and gentle, but has the intensity of a burning flame. I've never felt anything like it. His hands sometimes at my hips, or holding my face, trying to pull me closer somehow. I have my arms wrapped around his strong neck, with my fingers twisting around in his soft curls. We are lost in each other.

Eventually, after what seemed like eternity, we broke apart. I look at him. Beautiful Harry. My Harry. His beautiful green eyes stare into mine, and I see the light shining in them again. His smile is real. He's come back to me.


	2. Chapter 2

"I've waited so long for that." Harry said. He has the biggest grin on his face, making his beautiful dimples show.

"I have too. I just never realized, I think." I said smiling just as bright. "I love you, Harry," I say. "I love you so much."

You couldn't even imagine how happy he looked. I've never seen anyone look so cheerful in my life.

He wraps his arms around my torso, and picks me up. I wrap my legs around his waist and throw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "I love you, I love you, I love you," he says to me, as he twirls us around, and around, and around. Finally, he stops when he's about to tip us over from dizziness, and laughter. Slowly, we come to a full stop, and I take my head off of his shoulder, and face him.

"You're so beautiful, love. Do you know that?" he asks, kissing me on the forehead. "I've waited so long for this day. I would lay in my bed every night, wondering what it would be like for you to love me back. It got to the point where I couldn't even be around you, because I was going so mad. But I finally have you, and I've never been happier. Never." He said with a warm smile.

"Me neither. God, I love you so much. I'm so glad you're back." I say, as tears start to well up in my eyes again, and I start to sniffle.

"Well that's embarrassing," I say quietly, and laugh.

"I've seen you cry a million times, love." He laughs, and I wrap my arms around his neck, and hug him tightly.

I pull back, and gently kiss him. He wasn't expecting the kiss, but after a second, I feel him smile against my lips. My legs are still wrapped around him, and his hands are keeping me up by holding my thighs.

Every girl at school would be jealous of me right now. Kissing Harry. He's tall, has beautiful green eyes, cute dimples, has just the right amount of muscle, and he is so genuinely nice. Well, besides the whole 'beating the boy up' thing, which made him even hotter in their eyes. They would practically throw themselves at him, and he never gave any of them a second glance. He was always by my side. How did I end up with him? I'm pretty much just an average person. About 5"5, light brown eyes, brown hair. Nothing special. Why would he pick me, when he could get any girl he wants?

We both, reluctantly, pull apart after a while.

"I'll never get used to kissing you." he says with a smile. He lets me down, and I immediately grab his hand in mine, and we walk inside together. Neither of us can stop smiling.

"Wanna watch a movie?" I ask Harry excitedly. He nods with a smile. "Your pick! I'm gonna go make some popcorn!" I tell him while I walk into the kitchen. I pull a popcorn packet out of the cabinet, and slip it into the microwave. I hoist myself onto the counter, with my legs swinging back and forth, and wait for the popcorn to finish.

Harry comes into the kitchen, and walks towards me. I grin at him. "Pick a movie?" I ask.

"Yeah! X-Men: First Class. Already at the menu." He says, while he settles his body between my legs on the counter. Sitting on the counter and him standing up, still makes me a couple inches shorter than Harry. I smile up at him, but he only has a mischievous smirk on his face. He puts his arms on either side of me on the counter. "So... how long are your parents going to be gone for?" He asks, very seductively, and has his fingers running up and down my arm.

"Um, I don't know? Uh, they didn't really tell me I-I don't think, but it should be a while because it's a um, a work... thing." I say nervously. I've never seen Harry like this. With the look of want in his eyes. That smirk that would make any girl weak at the knees. It's...hot.

He moves closer to me, and nuzzles his face in my neck. "Hmmm.." He mumbles, giving me a tickling sensation on my neck. I, absentmindedly, tilt my head to the side, giving him more access. He kisses along my jawbone, and then slowly moves down my neck, taking his time. My eyes flicker closed, as his lips trail down farther, until about halfway to my collar bone. I feel his tongue slide over a sensitive spot, and I let out a small moan. I can feel him smirk against me, but he doesn't stop. Instead, he starts going back up. Finally, agonizingly slowly, he gets to my mouth, with our lips finally meeting. My hands find his curls, and I aggressively pull him as close as I possibly can. There is nothing gentle about this kiss. We are both moving our lips feverishly against each others, like there's a hunger that only the other person could satisfy. I can feel his hands touch my legs, and slide slowly up, past my hips, and settle on my waist. I feel his tongue start to move slowly across my bottom lip, when -

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. The microwave.

Harry pulls away. "Let's just -" I start to say, trying to pull Harry back to me, but he, annoyingly, pulls away.

"How about that movie?" He asks. He looks up at me, with a grin, and when I start to blush, he winks at me, making me blush even harder, and look away.

I've never done anything like that. Not even kiss before Harry. Even with how comfortable I am with Harry, it embarrasses me being so intimate with someone like that. I hear him chuckle, as he pulls out a bowl, and dumps the popcorn in there. Just like nothing had happened. He's acting so cool and calm, but he left me breathless, and feeling dizzy.

I don't know how he does it. One second, he's the sweetest and most gentle guy, thats always grinning and laughing and telling jokes, and then another second he's smirking, winking, confident, and _sexy. God, was that sexy._

I shake my head, getting down from the counter. I thought at first it would be weird even kissing Harry, but even how _close _we just got didn't even feel weird. Sure, I was a bit embarrassed after, but it felt so _right_ to be with Harry like that.

"I'm gonna start the movie without you, Bear!" He says from the other room, knocking me out of my daze.

"You better not!" I say back, grabbing two drinks from the fridge, and walking into the living room with him.


	3. Chapter 3

I open my eyes halfway, look up, and see Harry.

"You fell asleep 15 minutes into the movie." He looks down at me, smiling. I sit up from laying on his lap, and stretch.

"Why didn't you wake me? How long has the movie been over?" I yawned.

"Because you've looked tired ever since I saw you yesterday. You needed the rest." he said, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear. "The movie was a little over two hours, and its been over for about 30 minutes, so you've probably been asleep for about 3 hours total." He said, still smiling.

I grab his hand in mine. "So you've just been sitting here for thirty minutes doing nothing?" I laugh. I look down at our hands intertwined, and notice his bruised hand. I had forgotten about what happened. "Harry, lets go to the bathroom and doctor up your hand, okay?" I say, looking in his eyes.

He frowns. "Oh yeah. I forgot about... that." He said, getting up, and helping me off the couch, too. I lead the way into my houses only bathroom, and open the cabinets, looking for some remedies. It has some cuts, but its mostly just bruised. I grab some ointment, and a long, thin piece of cloth. I grab his hand, and pour some of the ointment on it, and rub it in. He winces in pain, but clenches his teeth and doesn't say anything. I get the cloth, and wrap it around his hand, closing the cloth off so the injury won't get infected.

"Thank you, love." he said smiling, and leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"You're welcome, _love."_ I said in a british accent like his, and stood on my toes, giving him a peck on the lips.

"Are you _mocking, _me?" He asks, with a halfway smile, and his beautiful dimples showing.

"Hmmmmm. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." I said, smirking up at him.

"You better stop right now." He said with that smirk back on his face, and his hand stroking up and down my arm, slowly. _This _side of Harry was back.

"Oh, and I bet you think you're going to make me, huh?" I said, poking his toned chest with my index finger and smirking, provoking him even more. His hands instantly fell on the wall on either side of me, and his face got closer, ending up with about 2 inches between us.

"Oh, I doubt that will be hard, love," he whispered, looking me up and down, biting his bottom lip. "Let me see how fast I can get your heart racing, hmm?" He moved closer, putting his mouth to my ear, and catching my ear lobe in between his teeth, gently biting it. I took a deep breath, and bit my bottom lip, trying not to squirm. His arms were still on either side of my head on the wall, and he was leaning against me, with his mouth to my ear. When he felt me breathe in, I could feel his mouth curve into a smile against my ear. "I'll make you pay for thinking you can get away with that." He whispered quietly.

He trailed kisses, slowly, from the top of my ear, to the bottom, getting more intimate with every kiss. When he gets back to my ear lobe, he bites it with his teeth, and rolls his tongue around the curve of it. I moan quietly, and somehow my hands find his hair. I wrap my fingers around his soft curls, and feel him gasp into my ear.

"Harry, kiss me," I barely breathe out. He has kissed me on my neck, ear, collarbone, but not yet my lips, and I'm aching to feel his soft mouth against mine. He leans back, and looks at me. I know he is about to give me a smug smile, and tell me 'No, because I needed to pay', but before he could open his mouth, I bit my bottom lip, and put my hand on his chest. I kept eye contact, while I ran my hand down his chest, stomach, until I slipped my fingers in his belt loop, and pulled his body toward mine. The smirk was off of his face, and I knew he didn't care whether or not I needed to 'pay' anymore. He looked desperate, like I was, to kiss. I saw how he looked at me, and I didn't see that sexy, or confident Harry like I usually do when we start kissing. I saw the Harry I grew up with. I saw the Harry that always shared a drink with me when I was thirsty, but he never got annoyed somehow. I saw the Harry that would jump on my bed at 6:30 in the morning, even on a Saturday, with a box full of donuts, because he couldn't sleep and he missed me. And when I wouldn't get up, he would would jump on my bed and sing at the top of his lungs, with those huge dimples showing.

He just stood there and stared at me. I grabbed his shoulders, and pulled him to me, and kissed him. This kiss was slow, and tender. I've never kissed anyone else, but I know if I did, it would never feel like this. You can feel so much in the kiss. The love, the passion, the _want _all in just a slow kiss. Kiss doesn't even begin describe what _this _is. He takes one hand off the wall, still having the other propped against it, and wraps it around my waist, pulling my body closer to his.

Suddenly, Harry pulls away. "I heard something." He quickly says, in a whisper. I reluctantly pulled away, too, wanting the kiss to last forever.

"CARTER. I BROUGHT CHINESE." My mom yells from the kitchen.

"Oh shit." Harry whispered. We completely let go of each other, and I fixed my hair in the mirror.

"Oh! There you are I was ju- HARRY!" My mom squealed. She loves Harry.

"Hello, Mrs. Reed." Harry looked at her with his signature cheeky grin.

"Harry! I haven't seen you in such a long time! When did you get here? Where have you been?" She asked happily.

"I actually spent the night. I'm sorry, Mrs. Reed, I've really missed you, I've just had some.. stuff going on. But I'm back!" he said moving his way to her, and hugging her tightly.

"Carter! How could you not have told me Harry was here? I have to stay in a hotel for work ONE night, and I miss this!" She said laughing. "Come on, I brought food!" She smiled, and walked out.

"God, that was close." I let out a sigh of relief.

"A little _too_ close," he said, grabbing my waist with one of his hands, and pulling me towards him. He grabbed my face with the other hand, and kissed me quickly.

I blushed heavily. "Harry! She is in the next room!" I said whispering, and laughing.

"You're adorable when you blush." He chuckled, and he started making his way out of the door.

"Harry, wait," I said, quietly, but loud enough for him to hear.

"Hmm?" he asked, turning around. I grab his shirt, and quickly bring him towards me, and kiss him. I knew we couldn't make it last long, so I finally broke it off.

"I'm not complaining, but what was that for?" He smiled stupidly at me.

"I had to kiss you one more time before I couldn't." I said, referring to my mom in the other room.

"Kinky," He said with a wink. I blushed, but I looked down so he couldn't see. He laughed, obviously noticing, and said "Come on," leaving the bathroom, and walking into the kitchen.

"There you two are! Why were you in the bathroom anyway?" She asked, getting the food from out of the Chinese restaurant bag.

"Oh! Well Harry hurt his hand by... um..." I mumbled. I couldn't think of anything to say. Shit.

"I was just helping my dad work outside, and a piece of wood fell on my hand. Blue noticed earlier, and thought she should help me fix it up," he said smoothly. Thank god. "What would I do without her, huh? I think I'd go mad." He smiled, throwing his arm around my shoulder.

I laughed nervously. "You definitely would. Lets eat! I'm starving."

"Me too!" Harry said sitting down, rubbing his stomach.

"Speaking of food, we should all go out tonight! Celebrate Harry being back around! Me, You, Harry, and your father!" My mom said happily to me. "We've really missed you, Harry."

"That sounds amazing, Mrs. Reed!" Harry said sweetly.

"Oh great! Let me just call Mr. Reed, and let him get a reservation at that nice restaurant downtown. I think he's on his way home." She said walking out with her phone in her hand.

"Don't you think tonight would be a good time to tell your parents about...?" Harry asked.

"About..?" I asked.

"Us? Dating?" He asked, looking nervous.

"Ooooh, is Harry Styles... _nervous_?" I asked teasingly.

"Come onnnnn, Bear. Seriously. Don't you think they should know?" He asked, staring at me like an innocent puppy.

"I don't know, Harry. Don't you think it's a little early? I think we should wait a couple days maybe, you know?" I told him.

It looked like a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders. "Okay, good. I was going mad. I do want to tell them. I hate keeping things from your parents, but I do think we should wait a couple days." he said, smiling at me. "I'm so glad this is happening to me. I love you." He said.

"I love you too, Harry." I said smiling back at him.

"Oooookay, I think the reservation is for 9:00 PM sharp tonight." Mom said walking in. "You two, wear something nice. I'm going to take a nap!" She said smiling at us both.

"Sleep well!" Harry and I said in unison.

"Okay, so it's 4:00 now. We have 4 hours to hang around, and we can use the last hour to get ready, and get to the restaurant. What do you want to do?" I asked Harry.

"I don't mind. I just want to be with you." he said smiling at me, which also made me smile like an idiot.

"Are you blushing again? What does that make, ten times in one day?" He asked, chuckling.

"Shut up, Harry." I said with a laugh. "What am I supposed to wear tonight? I haven't worn something very nice in a while." I said to Harry.

Harry shrugged. "You'll look great in anything... Or nothing." Harry smirked at me, and I looked down, and blushed again.

"Harry!" I say, trying not to smile.

"I'm just having a laugh." He said, kissing me.

"Be careful! My moms in the other room." I say worryingly.

"I know, I know." He said, smiling. "We can go watch another movie if you want?" He asked.

"Sounds good." I smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

"Okay, time to get ready." I said, sitting up on the couch.

"Nooooo, it's only seven. We still have two hours!" Harry whined.

"I know, but I want to look nice tonight, and I have a lot of things to do before I achieve that goal." I said laughing, and standing up from the couch and stretching. Harry and I ended up watching Iron Man 2, and it got done around six, so we started watching tv since it was too early to get ready. But now it's seven.

Harry grabbed my wrist, and pulled me on top of him on the couch. He was laying down, his hands on my hips, while my legs straddled his waist.

"Harry!" I let out a sound that was halfway between a sigh and a laugh. "I need to get ready."

"You still have plenty of time," he said grinning.

"No, _we_ don't, actually," I said, climbing off of him, and getting off the couch. In the process, he grabbed me again, and flipped me over, so he was on top.

"Come on, Harry, seriously. You need to get ready, too." I bit my lip, trying to suppress a smile. I tried to hide it, but my breath was heavy.

"I know, I know," He leans down, and quickly kisses me. He laughs, lifting his body off of me. "I actually have to go back to my place so I can get my suit, and I need a shower as well,"

"Aw, don't leave," I said pouting, sticking my bottom lip out.

"You could come with me?" He asked. "I mean, we are kind of early.."

"I don't know, Harry. My stuff is here..." I trailed off.

"Come on, just bring it with you, Bear," He said, and now he's giving me a pouty lip. "I want to be with you as much as I can."

"I guess so." I said, sighing, because Harry was giving me the puppy dog eyes. "Let me just take a quick shower and grab my stuff. I'll get ready at your place." I said, smiling.

"Great," he said, smiling with satisfaction.

I walked out, grabbed some clothes, and took a shower. I combed my hair out, and grabbed my makeup. I went to my closet, and found a cute black dress, and picked out some jewelry, and found a nice handbag. I held it all in my arms, and Harry was waiting for me in the kitchen.

"Ready?" He grinned.

"Yep." I smiled back.

We walked outside to his car, and he opened the door for me. I climbed in, smiling, and sat down. I took out my phone, and texted my mom to tell her where I was going, and that we would meet her and dad at the restaurant. She sent back a text soon after saying that it was perfectly fine.

Harry and I drove off to his house, and he grabbed my hand in his, and left his other hand on the steering wheel. I leaned up, and with my other hand, turned on the radio. The song that came on was "Roar" by Katy Perry. Harry and I both started singing it as soon as it came on, at the top of our lungs. Even when Harry was playfully singing loudly, he was still such an amazing singer.

"You have a beautiful voice, you know." I said, turning to look at him.

"You always say that." He laughed lightly. He brushed off the compliment, but he had the biggest smile on his face. He had always been interested in music. I used to could hear him singing in the shower early in the morning, when he thought I was asleep, and when he would cook, I could hear him humming his favorite song.

"And I'm always serious." I said, smiling. He had the brightest smile that could make even the saddest person in the world smile, just by looking at him.

He shook his head shyly and laughed lightly. He was still holding my hand, and he started gently rubbing his thumb over the top of it.

We pulled up at his house, and while I was gathering all of my stuff again, Harry came and opened my door for me. I bit my lip, trying to hold back a smile. I haven't been this happy in a long time, and all of these smiles I'm making don't seem... normal maybe? I'm not really used to it, I guess. But it feels so good to be this happy, and even better to be with Harry.

We walked inside, and into Harry's room. Of course, no one was home, like always. His parents never were around much - busy with work, more work, and God knows what else. They're gone almost all the time. They are dirty rich though, because his Dad is a doctor, and his mom is a therapist. But, money isn't everything. They would buy Harry things in place of spending time with him. He never seemed to mind though, he just spent the night at my house a whole lot. If there was something that was ever bothering him, he would talk to me about it. I could always read Harry so well, and he could never get away with trying to hide being upset, or mad, or whatever else it was. He wasn't spoiled either. His parents would offer to buy him things, but he wanted to be able to pay for it himself. Last summer, he even worked at a tiny little hotdog stand to raise money for a car.

"I'm going to take a shower, okay?" Harry said, pulling out some underwear and socks from his drawer.

"Yeah, go ahead. I'm just gonna change and put on some makeup." I said.

"Or, you could join me." He said. I turned, and looked at him. He was smirking at me, and had his arms crossed over his chest.

"Go, Harry," I said, laughing.

"Fineee." He laughed, turned around, and closed the door.

Harry had just turned on the water, so it would take him a couple minutes to come out, giving me the chance to slip on my clothes. I took my shirt and pants off, and slipped my dress over my head. It fitted like a glove, even though I had forgotten I had even owned it until now. I walked over to the mirror, and tucked my hair into a semi-tight bun, and secured it with a bunch of bobby pins. I thought it looked decent enough, so I moved on to my makeup. I put on some silver eye shadow at the corner of my eye. I applied some eye-liner on the top, and a thin line under my eye, too. Then I put on some mascara on my top and bottom lashes, and applied a small layer of lip gloss. I leaned back, and looked at myself in the mirror. I actually looked at least halfway decent. I haven't dressed up, or really even _tried _very hard to look pretty in a long time. I've never really wanted to impress anyone, so I never really cared much. But right now, I actually felt good about how I looked.

I heard the bathroom door creak open, and Harry stood in the doorway, shirtless, with a towel wrapped around his waist. He hesitated for a minute, and when he spoke, he had to clear his throat at least twice. "You look - wow, y-you look so beautiful. You look really beautiful." he said, rubbing his neck nervously. His wet, curly hair kept falling in his face, but he would keep pushing it back - running his fingers through it, visibly making his arm and chest muscles flex without him even trying. How did this happen? One of the hottest, nicest, and just all around best guys in the world, just stuttered because of me.

"I think that's a little bit of an exaggeration.." I said laughing nervously.

"No, I'm serious, Bear." Harry looked me straight in the eye.

I bit my lip nervously and blushed. "We should get ready..." I said.

Harry stood up straight, instead of leaning on the doorway, and walked to his closet, shaking his head and smiling.

I got closer to the mirror again, and took a deep breath, trying to lose the butterflies in my stomach. I was doing some touching up on my makeup, when I got distracted. I could see Harry in my peripheral vision in the mirror, looking through his closet shirtless. I tried really hard to pay attention to my makeup, but I kept finding myself staring at him.

"Jesus, Harry, put on some clothes already," I said turning around to look at him, and leaning back on the dresser.

"Hm, am I distracting?" He said turning around with a grin, and his dimples showing.

"No, I just think that - um, that we really should be getting r-ready - what are you doing?" I asked, mid-sentence, because he started walking towards me.

"Shhh," He said, getting closer and closer.

Finally, he reached me, and pressed his body (he was still only in a towel), to mine. His eyes set intensely on mine, and he licked his lips. He leaned forward, and I started leaning towards him.

Suddenly, all at once, he was gone. I quickly got knocked out of my daze, and watched him walk back towards his closet. He turns around, looks at me, and smirks. "Forgot my tie." He said, raising his hand up with the tie in it, and winked at me.

I stood there for a few seconds, trying to build up the courage to do what I was mentally planning. I breathed in deeply, and walked towards the closet where he was standing. He was facing it, so his back was turned towards me. I gently placed my hand on his shoulder, and softly trailed my fingers along the hard back muscles, and down his arm.

"Hey, what color shirt should I -" Harry starts to say, but I had already moved my hand back up his arm, and settled it on his neck. I pulled him towards me, and gave him a slow, gentle kiss. We lingered there for a minute, with our lips pressed softly together. I pull back after a minute, and stare at him. He stares right back, and we stand there looking at each other, until finally, he closes his eyes, and leans back towards me, trying to kiss me again. I walk back towards the mirror, smiling, and leaving Harry standing there watching me.

"Better get ready, Harry," I say, smiling triumphantly.

"Bloody tease," Harry said smiling, and shaking his head. He walks into the bathroom, still smiling, and shuts the door.

I grab my jewelry, handbag, and shoes. I put on my bracelet, necklace, and earrings, and then slipped on my heels. I grabbed my handbag, and waited for Harry. He walked out of the bathroom, and had only put on his underwear so far.

"Harry, why would you go in the bathroom to change, and only put on boxers?" I asked, laughing.

"Because I wanted to distract you more. But, it looks like you're ready, so maybe I should get changed." He winked at me and smiled. He grabbed his clothes, and started changing right in front of me. Which actually wasn't that obscene once I really thought about it, because he was putting clothes on instead of taking them off, but I still blushed anyway. Finally, he had put his pants on, and a white dress shirt. He buttoned it almost all the way to the top, but let a few buttons loose. He grabbed his tie, and expertly put it on. Finally, he put his shoes, and also his suit jacket on.

"Ready?" he asked, holding his arm out for me to hold.

"Ready." I say, smiling.

* * *

**_~~Note~~_**

_**If you want to see what she was wearing, there is a link in my bio called "Date"**  
_

* * *

He held my hand all the way to the car, and he opened the door for me. I slipped in, and smiled while he walked over to his side.

"Well, don't you look handsome?" I said kissing his cheek as he sat down.

My smile slowly fell when I saw that he had his hands on the steering wheel, gripping it tightly. He looked deep in thought.

"Harry, what's wrong?" I asked, suddenly worried. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just - I need to tell you something, okay?" I nodded.

In truth, I was terrified. Maybe he realized that dating me was a mistake - that he had wasted his entire life by my side, or that being with me was not as good as it was in his mind. Did he finally, just now realize, that maybe he _is _too good for me? Too attractive, too smart, too everything for me? Did he realize he could do much, much better?

"You look so, so amazing tonight. I mean you do every day, but you look so beautiful right now," He said, looking at me. I could tell he was nervous.

"That's nice, Harry, but -" I got cut off.

"No, you have to stop doing that. Don't treat yourself badly. You're so beautiful, it drives me mad just looking at you. I just wanted to tell you - well, let you know, how much I don't deserve you, and I just honestly have never been so happy in my life. You made me this happy." He said, looking at me nervously.

"You know you could get any girl you wanted, Harry. Don't you know that?" I asked, looking down, and fidgeting with my hands.

He laughs lightly, and raises my chin up to look at him. "After all of this, you still think I'd choose anyone but you? You're mad." He said, smiling.

I smiled back, and poked his dimple with my finger. He made me so happy. He put his thumb on my chin, and his index finger under it, and brought my face to his, kissing me lightly.

"I love you, Harry." I looked at him, smiling.

"I love you, too, Bear," He said, looking at me.

I lean over, grab his face, and kiss him again. It was gentle at first, but it quickly turned heated. He shifted his body into a better position, and while still kissing, I lifted the console that divides our two seats, and kick my heels off. With nothing now blocking me from him, I climb over to his side, and straddle his legs. Its difficult with this tight dress on, so I hike it up to my mid-thigh, making it a lot easier. He settled his hands on my hips, sometimes moving them up and holding my waist. I had gripped the folds on his suit jacket tightly, bringing him as close as I could. I let go of the jacket, and put my hands on his chest. I could feel his heart pounding under my hand, which made me smile against his lips. _I was making his heart pound.  
_

I pulled my lips from his, and watched him. His breathing is heavy, making his chest rise and fall quickly. It felt amazing to have this power over him, that he usually has over me. He is so vulnerable right now, and I'm enjoying every second of it.

I smile to myself, and move my lips to his ear. I kiss it lightly a few times, before I whisper into it. With my breath hot in his ear, I murmur; "Looks like the tables have turned, hmm?" I say, as I laugh quietly against his ear. Before I even knew what was happening, he had lifted me up, turned us, and pinned me down to my seat. He had completely changed our position, so I was now laying down, with my body extended from my head laying on my seat, to my legs in his seat. He was on top of me smirking.

"Oh, have they? I didn't notice." He was still smirking, while I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck, and pulled his face to mine. His lips finally connected with mine, and I intertwined my hands with his hair. I felt something hard press into my leg, and it took me a second before I came to realization of what it was. I froze under him, and opened my eyes widely. Harry obviously noticed, and quickly lifted off of me.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt you? Are you alright?" He asked quickly.

"No, Harry, you didn't hurt me, it's just, um," I said nervously biting my lip.

"What is it, then?" He asked with a gentle tone. He sounded so worried.

"Harry, don't worry, it's just that, um, I felt your uh...your um, yeah, on my leg," I said stuttering. I could feel my face blush worse than ever, and I was avoiding eye contact.

"Oh God, I'm sorry that uh, that kind of happens sometimes," he laughed nervously. "Let me go take care of, uh, well you know," he said uncomfortably. "I'll um, be right back," he said as he got out of the car, and made his way back into the house.

"I'm so dumb," I said as I slammed my head into my hands. It isn't like I didn't know it was going to happen sooner or later, I mean, we _had_ been making out for a while. I think it was just strange, because I've known Harry my whole life, and it's weird to see something new about a person after so much time of knowing them. Obviously he knew it was happening, I just made it uncomfortable for both us by pointing it out. It had been five minutes since he had gone inside, leaving me with my thoughts. "_take care of it," _he had said, and I blushed again, when I thought about what he was doing inside.

I shook my thoughts away, and pulled down the mirror that was above me. My hair, at some point, had come out of its bun, and the long curly strands fell messily over my shoulders. I was about to fix it, when the door on Harry's side opened, and he climbed in.

"I like your hair down like that," he said after a minute, and I could feel him looking at me. I turned to look at him, and smiled shyly when my eyes met his familiar face.

"I'm sorry," he said worriedly.

I laughed gently, "Don't be, Harry. It was my fault," I say as I laugh again, trying to lift some of the tension.

He shook his head, and looked away. I stopped laughing, and moved my hand to his cheek, turning his face back to look at me. I moved closer, and kissed him gently.

"It's okay, Harry. I promise." I smile at him, and finally he smiles back.

"I love you," he says, with a half-smile.

"I love you, too," I say as I lean in, and kiss him one more time.

He smiled at me, as he cranked the car, and I grabbed his hand in mine. We made our way over to the restaurant downtown. It was now 8:45, so we were just on time.


End file.
